CAMBODIA
TRAVEL INFORMATION
The Kingdom of Cambodia is a country in South East Asia. Cambodia is the successor state of the once powerful Hindu and Buddhist Khmer Empire, which ruled most of the Indochinese Peninsula between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries. A citizen of Cambodia is usually identified as "Cambodian" or "Khmer," though the latter strictly refers to ethnic Khmers. Most Cambodians are Theravada Buddhists of Khmer extraction, but the country also has a substantial number of predominantly Muslim Cham, as well as ethnic Chinese, Vietnamese and small animist hill tribes. The country borders Thailand to its west and northwest, Laos to its northeast, and Vietnam to its east and southeast. In the south it faces the Gulf of Thailand.
The most distinctive geographical feature is the lacustrine plain, formed by the inundations of the Tonle Sap (Great Lake). This densely populated plain, which is devoted to wet rice cultivation, is the heartland of Cambodia. Most (about 75%) of the country lies at elevations of less than 100 metres above sea level, the exceptions being the Cardamom Mountains and their southeast extension the Dâmrei Mountains ("Elephant Mountains"), as well the steep escarpment of the Dângrêk Mountains along the border with Thailand's Isan region.
Cambodia has a wide variety of plants and animals. There are 212 mammal species, 536 bird species, 240 reptile species, 850 freshwater fish species (Tonle Sap Lake area), and 435 marine fish species. The country has one of the highest deforestation rates in the world. Cambodia's main industries are garments, tourism, and construction.
WEATHER
Cambodia's temperatures range from 10° to 38 °C and experiences tropical monsoons. Southwest monsoons blow inland bringing moisture-laden winds from the Gulf of Thailand and Indian Ocean from May to October. The northeast monsoon ushers in the dry season, which lasts from November to March. The country experiences the heaviest precipitation from September to October with the driest period occurring from January to February. It has two distinct seasons. The rainy season, which runs from May to October, can see temperatures drop to 22 °C and is generally accompanied with high humidity. The dry season lasts from November to April when temperatures can raise up to 40 °C around April.
HEALTH
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PASSPORT
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